Boston Red Sox at Minnesota Twins

The Red Sox won 9-3 at Seattle on Sunday to improve to 26-13 on the road. It's the first time Boston has recorded 26 wins in 39 road games since 2002, when it had 28 victories through 39 games.

The Red Sox went 5-2 against the Twins last season, taking two of three at Target Field. Boston plated 51 runs and clubbed 14 homers -- its most against Minnesota since belting 20 in 10 meetings in 2000.

Xander Bogaerts, who has three home runs and six RBI in his last four games, is 30-for-63 with two homers, five doubles, 13 RBI and 17 runs in 14 games against the Twins since 2016. That .476 batting average is the highest in the majors for a player against any single opponent since 2016 (min. 50 plate appearances).

Chris Sale allowed a run and two hits while striking out nine over 6.0 innings in Wednesday's 5-1 win at Baltimore to end a three-start losing streak -- his longest since 2015. In 10 starts against the Twins since 2015, Sale is 4-5 with a 6.12 ERA. Among the 15 pitchers who have made at least seven starts versus Minnesota since 2015, Sale's ERA is the worst.

Jose Berrios gave up a run and seven hits with seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings last Wednesday at Detroit but was denied a win, as the Twins would go on to lose 5-2. He has yielded two runs or fewer in five of his last six outings, posting a 2.47 ERA with a 0.85 WHIP and 51 strikeouts in 43.2 innings.

Eduardo Escobar had three more hits in Sunday's 4-1 loss at Cleveland for his ninth multihit game of June, and is now batting .420 with 12 doubles and 22 RBI since May 30. In that time span, his doubles are the most in the majors, while his average trails only Mike Trout at .422 (min. 25 plate appearances), and his RBI are one behind Evan Gattis for the most in baseball.

After splitting a four-game weekend set in Seattle, the Boston Red Sox return to work Tuesday night when they open a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

The Red Sox went into their off day on Monday just a half-game behind the New York Yankees, but they have won six of their last nine games thanks to a starting rotation that has been among the best in baseball during the last two weeks.

Chris Sale will look to keep that going Tuesday when he takes the mound for his 16th start of the season. The left-hander snapped a three-start losing streak his last time out, allowing just a run in six innings of a 5-1 victory over Baltimore.

Sale had allowed 10 runs in 10 1/3 innings against the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros on May 27 and June 1, respectively. He rebounded by holding the Chicago White Sox to a run in eight innings while striking out two on June 8 in a 1-0 Red Sox loss before getting back in the win column against the Orioles.

"I have a good rhythm and tempo going for me right now," said Sale, who has held opponents to no more than a run in nine starts this season. "I'm feeling good. That's the way I like it."

He's 10-6 with a 4.21 ERA in 26 career appearances (18 starts) against the Twins, who also had Monday off after a 3-3 road trip that saw them drop two of three to the Detroit Tigers and take two of three from the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians.

They'll begin the day third in the division, five games behind Cleveland and 2 1/2 behind Detroit.

"It was a good series win (in Cleveland)," third baseman Eduardo Escobar said. "We'll be ready Tuesday for another series at home. This team will be OK. We go out there and play hard every day, but sometimes you have to give credit to the other pitchers."

The Twins will turn to their own budding ace for the series opener.

Right-hander Jose Berrios is 4-1 with a 2.47 ERA in his last six starts. He has allowed more than two runs just once during that stretch and has struck out 51 while walking only 12 in 43 2/3 innings, including 24 strikeouts with two walks in his last three outings.

Berrios took no-decision his last time out. He held the Tigers to a run, seven hits and a walk while striking out seven in six innings, but the Twins' offense and bullpen couldn't get the job done in a 5-2 loss.

"He threw a hell of a game," reliever Addison Reed said afterward. "That was fun to watch. He works his tail off, and it shows when he's out there. The thing that I'm most (upset) about tonight is not getting him the 'W.'"

Berrios has one previous career start against the Red Sox. He allowed four runs and struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings of a 4-1 loss at Fenway Park last season.